Scan barcode
A review by jennyfer
Heart and Brain: Onward to Good Things! by Nick Seluk
5.0
I adore the Heart and Brain comics, with their eminently relatable mix of overthinking Brain and carefree Heart providing a balance of eternal optimism and down to earth pragmatism. Are they conflicting? Yes! Are they adorable and filled with truisms and reality checks? Absolutely!
In "Heart and Brain: Onward to Good Things!" The lovable Heart and Brain are accompanied by the supporting characters of the Awkward Yeti, Tongue, Bowels, Stomach and other body parts, who become the unwitting victims (or perhaps enablers) of the self-sabotaging impulses of Heart and Brain. Heart, as always, is accompanied by the nameless butterfly in the more impulsive moments.
The comics are one-page, predominantly 4-panel self-contained strips, in simple, mostly bright colours.
Heart and Brain touch gently on the mental health issues surrounding ADHD, depression and anxiety without becoming too dark. The author mentions that he had been going through some challenging times during the creation of the comic, and at times the comics do reflect this, acknowledging both the emotions and the natural reactions to them (avoidance, comfort food, the eternal search for dopamine and, occasionally, acceptance). The comic also takes an absurdist look at the extremes of these (in Heart's impulses or Tongue's excesses) to shine a light on these less-than-healthy coping mechanisms.
The relationship between Heart and Brain is heartwarming and genuine, and even these comical disembodied organs go through significant change and growth throughout the book.
Overall, this is a funny, wholesome comic, and I give it 5 stars.
~ Many thanks to NetGalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and of course the Awkward Yeti himself Nick Seluk for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~
In "Heart and Brain: Onward to Good Things!" The lovable Heart and Brain are accompanied by the supporting characters of the Awkward Yeti, Tongue, Bowels, Stomach and other body parts, who become the unwitting victims (or perhaps enablers) of the self-sabotaging impulses of Heart and Brain. Heart, as always, is accompanied by the nameless butterfly in the more impulsive moments.
The comics are one-page, predominantly 4-panel self-contained strips, in simple, mostly bright colours.
Heart and Brain touch gently on the mental health issues surrounding ADHD, depression and anxiety without becoming too dark. The author mentions that he had been going through some challenging times during the creation of the comic, and at times the comics do reflect this, acknowledging both the emotions and the natural reactions to them (avoidance, comfort food, the eternal search for dopamine and, occasionally, acceptance). The comic also takes an absurdist look at the extremes of these (in Heart's impulses or Tongue's excesses) to shine a light on these less-than-healthy coping mechanisms.
The relationship between Heart and Brain is heartwarming and genuine, and even these comical disembodied organs go through significant change and growth throughout the book.
Overall, this is a funny, wholesome comic, and I give it 5 stars.
~ Many thanks to NetGalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and of course the Awkward Yeti himself Nick Seluk for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~